2025

[Kenmure]

Had the call yesterday afternoon. Pre registration was 4 August 2023. Booked the cruise we wanted for October 2025 for the type of cabin that we wanted. 35% discount. So happy here.

[twotravellersLondon]

Had the call! 🙃 😊

 

Two cruises booked. One at 35% discount and the other at 25% discount but a grade higher that we would've normally taken but at the same price as a lower grade (we don't understand either... but the bottom line makes sense.) So well pleased! 😀 😃

 

Now... where's that old piggy bank! 💰

 

 🍹🍹

[Denarius]

59 minutes ago, twotravellersLondon said:

Had the call! 🙃 😊

 

Two cruises booked. One at 35% discount and the other at 25% discount but a grade higher that we would've normally taken but at the same price as a lower grade (we don't understand either... but the bottom line makes sense.) So well pleased! 😀 😃

 

Now... where's that old piggy bank! 💰

 

 🍹🍹

The latter happened to me a couple of years ago, when booking by phone outside of the advanced registration sales period. The Saga rep suggested that she gave me a quote for a higher cabin grade as well as the one I requested as they had not been selling as well so still had higher discounts. In the event the higher grade cabin was cheaper so I took it!

[GerryL13]

Just pre-registered for 2nd half 2026!!! 😁

 

Someone from Saga called me -- pre-arranged -- because there is no way to pre-register online. She took my payment info, and now I need to make a new folder for my file cabinet: Saga 2026. 

[Truro001]

Following the recent release of Saga’s 2025 cruises to those who have pre registered it has been interesting to read about the experiences of those already contacted. I note that there has been mention about the amount of discount that people have been offered but little mention as to which category of stateroom that discount applied. There has also been some mention of confusion as to how the staterooms are priced in that sometimes a higher category stateroom can  cost less than a stateroom in a lower category. I found that drawing up a spreadsheet detailing the discounts per stateroom category against the full price of the cruise made it very easy to determine the best deal available. It has been my experience that on a typical 30 night cruise the FULL PRICE of a standard cabin increases by approximately  £1,000 for each deck above E deck. The difference in the FULL PRICE of a cabin on E deck and a cabin on A deck can therefore be in the region of £4000. We all have our own preferences as where on the ship we like to be located and the category of stateroom preferred ie Standard, De Luxe or Suite but I am concerned primarily with the pricing of the standard staterooms.

On Day One of the release the arithmetic is quite simple because all categories are offered with a 35% discount. The staterooms on E deck are always very popular so the 35% discount soon drops to 30% and so on. Conversely, the more expensive staterooms on A deck don’t appear to sell so quickly and maintain the higher discounts for longer. This is precisely the reason why, over time, the higher category staterooms can work out cheaper than lower category staterooms.

When receiving the phone call I simply enter the full cost of the cruise per stateroom category and it immediately becomes clear whether a cabin on Deck B with a 35% discount is cheaper than a stateroom on deck E with a 5% discount. (It is often the case).

A stateroom on E deck with a 35% discount will always be the cheapest option and I have never yet seen a “guarantee” stateroom advertised for less than this price. No matter what stateroom might eventually be allocated a “Guarantee” cabin simply guarantees a Standard stateroom which could be on E deck and anything above that should be considered a bonus. They are perhaps the ideal choice for someone who would ultimately be happy to be on E deck but has missed out on the higher rates of discount applicable to E deck. We once opted for a guarantee cabin on a cruise that was only half full and were allocated a cabin on E deck. We were quite happy with the allocation and although others might have fared better when opting for a Guarantee cabin it should not be assumed that you would automatically be allocated a higher category cabin.

I note a guarantee cabin on the forthcoming “Contrasts of Canada and the USA” cruise is £8183. Currently the cheapest cabins you can select yourself are on D deck with a quoted price of £10,883 (5% discount on the full fare of  £11,455) and a cabin on B deck at £10,884 (20% discount on the full fare of £13,605).  A guarantee cabin is therefore a good option. However, if one had been quick and booked that cabin on D deck with a 35% discount the price would have been £7445. Makes you think!

 

[nosapphire]

Or - when "the call" comes, simply ask what the cheapest cabin in your selected type (standard twin, deluxe, single etc).

You can start off by asking for your preferred deck, and then ask if any other deck is cheaper, or can simply go straight to "tell me the price".

The operator will have all the information on current prices in front of them, and if a cabin on deck D or C is currently cheaper than a cabin on deck E, they'll tell you.

All you have to do then is decide whether it is a price you want to pay.

[GerryL13]

I've thought of seeing if I can get a larger cabin (than standard solo) by playing with the discounts, but since I fly in from afar, I book back-to-back cruises. Adding in the variable of trying to get the best deal on the same cabin for both cruises is more work than I want to load on my brain. I like the convenience of not having to change cabins between cruises, so I just go with the best solo standard that fits my needs -- for both.

[Denarius]

I have never seen the logic of why cabins on a higher deck cost more than identical cabins on a lower one. I suspect that it goes back to the days when cabins were in the hull and public rooms in the superstructure, so canins on a higher deck were closer to the latter; also cabins on the lower decks were close to the waterline where bad weather was more apparent. Old habits die hard. Personally I prefer a cabin closer to the public rooms - but not so close that unwanted noise could be a problem - and on Saga D deck is my deck of choice. I cannot see the point of paying considerably more for a an identical cabin on a higher deck, although others may differ. Perhaps this is why cabins on the lower decks sell faster, and those on higher decks have larger discounts for longer. If so, Saga's pricing policy is surely wrong.

[BigCheese1]

Just been rung, only registered a few weeks ago. Offered 30% off Natural wonders of Iceland 4/7/25, 35% off Southern Spain and Morocco 23/7/25, 35% off Scenic  Scandinavia 11/9/25.

Decided they are not for us at the moment, we may regret this, but we haven’t even done our 1st Saga cruise, so maybe we might try this again for 2026 if we really think Saga is best value for us.

[Windsurfboy]

2 hours ago, Denarius said:

I have never seen the logic of why cabins on a higher deck cost more than identical cabins on a lower one. I suspect that it goes back to the days when cabins were in the hull and public rooms in the superstructure, so canins on a higher deck were closer to the latter; also cabins on the lower decks were close to the waterline where bad weather was more apparent. Old habits die hard. Personally I prefer a cabin closer to the public rooms - but not so close that unwanted noise could be a problem - and on Saga D deck is my deck of choice. I cannot see the point of paying considerably more for a an identical cabin on a higher deck, although others may differ. Perhaps this is why cabins on the lower decks sell faster, and those on higher decks have larger discounts for longer. If so, Saga's pricing policy is surely wrong.

 

Completely agree, the lower the more stable. Wish they'd have some midships suites on D , view is fine. Why you have to pay more to wobble ?

[LandC]

I had an email from Saga stating that Summer 2025 cruises will go on general release next week. 

[maesteggirl]

We also had that email yesterday. I've only just noticed that Saga have stopped putting the percentage discount available on their cabin prices on the website!!

[nosapphire]

2 hours ago, maesteggirl said:

We also had that email yesterday. I've only just noticed that Saga have stopped putting the percentage discount available on their cabin prices on the website!!

Just had a look, any still available percentage discounts are shown once you open up the "prices and availability" section.

Annoyingly, yet another booked cruise is now going to cabin guarantee...

[maesteggirl]

Very strange. When I look at the "prices and availability" section on both iPad and Mac no percentages are showing!  Couldn't quite see what Saga would gain by doing this.

[Windsurfboy]

3 hours ago, nosapphire said:

 

Annoyingly, yet another booked cruise is now going to cabin guarantee...

 

I agree it's annoying.  Saga has got itself into a hole. Prices start off reasonable at 35% off,  it then reduces the discount. So Amost No one buys at higher prices, everyone waits then for guarantee which they know will come.. Which annoys anyone who didn't get 35% off.  Once promotions become routine, no incentive to pay normal price.

[Cruise-Cat]

8 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

I agree it's annoying.  Saga has got itself into a hole. Prices start off reasonable at 35% off,  it then reduces the discount. So Amost No one buys at higher prices, everyone waits then for guarantee which they know will come.. Which annoys anyone who didn't get 35% off.  Once promotions become routine, no incentive to pay normal price.

Agree on the whole but just noticed that Scandinavia on July 3rd has very limited availability now

[Windsurfboy]

Just looked at my next cruise, not gone to  guarantee,  but still showing  discount% , also now showing how many cabins available at each level, which it hasn't for a while.

 

7 months to go, is their a time when guarantee appear

[Denarius]

41 minutes ago, Cruise-Cat said:

Agree on the whole but just noticed that Scandinavia on July 3rd has very limited availability now

It has. I am on that cruise as a solo traveller. A few weeks ago Saga sent me a flyer including that cruise and I noticed that all single grades were sold out!

Edited March 28 by Denarius

[Kohima]

Guarantee prices usually only appear 3-4 months before the sailing date if a substantial number of cabins are still unsold (even sooner if sales are really poor). However the guarantee price can also vary(up or down), depending on how quickly sales go.

We are also on the 3rd July cruise, having booked at a substantial discount when general sales opened. It seems to have sold very well from the outset, possibly due to the 2 day Stockholm stay…?

 

[Cruise-Cat]

1 hour ago, Kohima said:

We are also on the 3rd July cruise, having booked at a substantial discount when general sales opened. It seems to have sold very well from the outset, possibly due to the 2 day Stockholm stay…?

 

We booked this one whilst on board SoD during our first Saga cruise in January.  Our cabin had 25% discount plus we also got the EH 5% so quite happy with that - although 35% would, of course, be preferable.

May see you on board 👋

[Glenndale]

We booked the 3rd of July one during pre registration last year. All the suites appear to be sold out.

[nosapphire]

19 hours ago, maesteggirl said:

Very strange. When I look at the "prices and availability" section on both iPad and Mac no percentages are showing!  Couldn't quite see what Saga would gain by doing this.

I had something similar a couple of years ago - the pages I was looking at on Saga website were totally different to the pages others were quoting from. Turned out that Saga website had taken a temporary dislike to the browser I was using.

[Spence55]

17 hours ago, Cruise-Cat said:

We booked this one whilst on board SoD during our first Saga cruise in January.  Our cabin had 25% discount plus we also got the EH 5% so quite happy with that - although 35% would, of course, be preferable.

May see you on board 👋

What is the EH 5% please? 

[Windsurfboy]

3 hours ago, Spence55 said:

What is the EH 5% please? 

 

English heritage members  5% discount, I  didn't know about it till after I'd  booked. Well worth the membership fee if we book another  Saga cruise

[Truro001]

It is my understanding that the EH discount is only available once the cruises have gone on general release. It cannot be applied to bookings made during Advance Registration.